My Adventure Through Our Family Tree Branches

For over 50 years my Dad researched both his and my Mom's family tree branches - and loved every minute of it! Trying to fulfill the promise I made him the last month of his life, I have spent the past four years continuing where he left off - finding out about all the many family members who came before us, from the many branches of our family trees. The histories will still be published as my Dad always wanted. But what he wanted most was to share the stories of the people who came before us - the places they lived, the cultures of the times, the families they created, and the circumstances - good and bad - that would one day lead to us, their descendants. These are the stories of my Mom's families. . . .

Surnames in this Blog

BRUNETT, DeGRUY, DeLERY, FLEMMING, FORTIER, FRISSE, HORST, HUBER, JACKSON, McCAFFREY, McCLUSKEY, O'DONNELL, WEINSCHENK



Friday, July 4, 2014

HOLIDAY SPECIAL - Two Kids and a Flag (c. 1918)

Happy Independence Day, 2014!

Grider and Charles Horst (c. 1918)
Birmingham, Alabama
I love this picture of two of my grandmother's cousins holding an American flag, with all 48 stars proudly displayed. The children are the only children of Charles Frederick Horst (1880-1964) and Eliza Loy Dilworth (1885-1960). On the left is their daughter Frances Grider Flemming (1908-1995); on the right is her brother Charles Frederick Horst, Jr. (1911-1984). Charles, Sr. is the older brother of my great-grandmother Pearl Horst Flemming (1884-1961), making Grider and Charles my first cousins, twice removed.

The picture was taken in the front yard of their home in the Highland Park neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama. It may have been taken to celebrate the Fourth of July. Another possibility is that the picture was taken in November 1918, in celebration of the end of World War I. If it were 1918 then Grider would be almost 10 and Charles would have just turned 7, the day before the war ended. The clothing is typical of the times, especially Charles' sailor suit. Grider, wearing knickerbockers (short pants with a cuff at the knee), was ahead of her time - girls were only beginning to try out typical boys' clothing in the 1910's.

The picture is such a moment of patriotism in a time long gone, almost a century ago. Have you taken pictures of your family and/or children that your descendants will be able to look at a hundred years from now and see how you celebrated your own patriotism?
Posted by Susan Thomas at 5:50 PM
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1 comment:

  1. AmericanPolicyProjectJuly 8, 2021 at 3:38 PM

    Hello! I am interested in using some of your content on a Mobile History website amd wondering if that would be alright. Thanks! Ann Jurgens

    ReplyDelete

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